Snap-seal.



Patented Apr. a, 1902.

E. J. B B0 0 K S SNAP SEAL (Application filed Feb. 18, 1902. (No Model.)

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THE Mumps PEYERS 9a, wnofoutua, WASH UNITED STATES PATENT-- OFFICE.

EDWARD J. BROOKS, OF EAST ORANGE, NEWJERSEY.

SNAP-SEAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 697,375, dated April 8,1902; Application filed February 18, 1902. Serial No. 94,632- (Nomodel.)

T0 on whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD J. BROOKS, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of East Orange, in the State of New Jersey, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Snap-Seals, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention is additional to my series of improvements relating toself-fastening seals or snap seals, as they are commonly termed, adaptedfor use as substitutes for lead and wire seals and other press-fastenedsealing devices to secure the doors of railroad freight-cars againstsurreptitious entry and for other like purposes. Previous forms of suchsnap-seals are set forth in my specifications forming part of UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 679,104, dated July 23, 1901, and previousLetters Patent therein mentioned.

The present invention is more particularly an improvement on thesnap-seal of said Letters Patent N 0. 679,104.

In constructing seals of this class, which are used only once, the costof manufacture and of transportation in bulk is an importantconsideration.

The leading object of the present invention is to construct a safe andsecure snap-seal thatcan be made at a relatively low cost from smallpieces of scrap tin and that will be of light weight.

The invention consists inthe improved seal, as hereinafterdescribed, andin certain novel -combinations of parts thereof pointed out in theappended claims.

A sheet of drawings accompanies this specification as part thereof.

' Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings are longitudinal sections of theimproved seal, showing it respectively as it leaves the factory or as itis carried by the sealer and as applied to a pair of car-door staplesand fastened. Fig. 3 is a face view of the shackle segregated. Figs. 4and ,5, Figs. 6 and 7, and Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views of therespective pieces of which the hollow seal part is composed. Figs. 10and 11 are end views of the completed seal part. Figs. 12 and 13 areside views of the same, and Fig. 14 is a cross-section on the line w 00,Fig. 2.

Like letters and numbers refer to like parts in all the figures. Incommon with the seal set forth in said previous specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. 679,104 the present seal is composed of aflexible shackle A, the respective ends of which are provided withsnap-catches 1 and 2 and a hollow seal part B, within which therespective ends of the shackle are successively made fast, one end ofthe shackle A being conveniently so attached to the seal part B at thefactory or by the sealer before starting out with a handful of seals toseal the cars, baggage, or the like to which they are to be applied andthe other end after being passed through a pair of car-door staples O orthe like, which cannot afterward be separated without destroying theseal.

The improved shackle A has a pair of withdrawal-resisting snap-catches 1and 2, severed except at one end from the sheet-metal body of theshackle and projecting longitudinally from the face and back of theshackle, respectively, toward its middle. Between the first of thesesnap-catches 1 and its end of the shackle an oppositely-projectingsnap-catch 3 of like shape is thrown out at the back of the shackle, andbetween the other snapcatch 2 and its end of the shackle a catch-opening4 is formed to'interlock with said catch 3 when the second shackle endis inserted into the seal part B, Fig. 2. The face of the shackle isfurthermore provided with the customary permanent distinguishing marksrepresented by XYRRGO-4444 in Fig. 3.

The improved seal part is composed of three pieces a, b, and 0, Figs. 4to 13, inclusive, of which the pieces a and b are united with each otherby interlocking flanges 5 and 6, and the disk-shaped piece 0 is attachedby interlocking flanges 7, 8, and 9 upon the respective pieces, saidpiece a appearing in the blank as represented by Fig. 4 and when readyto be united with the other pieces ,as

represented by Fig. 5, the piece I) appearing 5 in the blank asrepresented by Fig. 6 and when ready to be united with the other piecesas represented by Fig. 7, and the piece 0 preferably appearing in theblank as represented by Fig. 8 and when ready to be united with theother pieces as represented by Fig. 9. The dotted lines in Figs. 4, 6,and 8 represent the lines 011 which the metal is bent, and it will beunderstood that in practice the metal is stamped out and pressed intoshape by substantially a single operation. The pieces in the shapesrepresented by Figs. 5, 7, and 9 are assembled and permanently unitedwith each other by interlocking said flanges 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, as inFigs. 10 and 12.

The completed seal part B, Figs. 1 and 2 and Figs. 10 to 14, inclusive,has an inletopening 10 with inwardly-projecting flanges 11 at its sidesto stiffen the metal, a bodychamber 12 in communication with saidinletopening, and wedge-shaped recesses 13 and 14 in the respectivesides of said chamber 12, said recess 13 being a catch-recess tocooperate with said snap-catches 1 and 2, as in Figs. 1 and 2, and saidrecess 14 accommodating the supplemental snap-catch 3 as in thesefigures.

Vhen the first end of the shackle is introduced through the inlet 10, topreliminarily attach the same to the seal part B its snapcatch 1interlocks with said catch-recess 13, as in Fig. 1, and the shackle Aand seal part B are thus united with each other. After the other end ofthe shackle has been passed through the car-door staples O or the likeand is inserted, as in Fig. 2, its snap-catch 2, springing through theopening from which the snap-catch 1 is cut, interlocks with said catchrecess 13 behind said snap-catch 1, as in Fig. 2. At the same time thecatch-hole 4, passing said snap-catch 3, interlocks with the latter,which then resumes its normal position within said recess 14 andmaterially adds to the security of the seal.

The disk-shaped face of the seal part B may conveniently be providedwith any desired lettering or distinguishing marks represented by X. Y.R. R. CO. in Fig. 11, or the distinctive shape of this part, with orwithout a distinctive color, may suffice to distinguish it. The size andshape of the body portion of the seal part, formed by said pieces a andZ), are determined by the absolute requirements for the accommodationwithin the same of the shackle ends and snap-catches, and the seal partis thus made as small and of as light weight as is practicable. On theother hand, with the seal part so marked, the lettering of the shackle Amay be dispensed with, if preferred, with or without the employment of adistinguishing color instead. The relative size and the shape of thesealpart piece 0 may be changed. The snapcatches may be pointed orrounded, if preferred, and other like modifications will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described said improvement, I claim as my invention anddesire to patent under this specification 1. An improved snap-sealcomposed of a flexible sheetmetal shackle having withdrawal-rcsistingsnap-catchesat its respective ends, projecting from its face and itsback respectively, an oppositely-projecting supplemental snap-catchbetween one of said catches and its extremity of the shackle and acatch-hole between the other of the catches first named and itsextremity of the shackle adapted to interlock with said supplementalsnap-catch, and a hollow sheet-metal seal part having an inlet for theshackle ends, a chamber in communication with said inlet adapted toaccommodate said shackle ends within it, and recesses in the respectivesides of said chamber adapted to interlock with said catches first namedand to mask the free end of said supplemental snap-catch.

2. The combination, in a snap-seal, of a flexible sheet metal shacklehaving withdrawal-resisting snap-catches at its respective ends, and ahollow sheet-metal seal part composed of a pair of body-pieces and adiskshaped inlet-forming piece interlocked with each other and adaptedto inclose said shackle ends and to interlock with said snap-catchessuccessively.

3. The combination, in a snap-seal, of a flexible sheet-metal shacklehaving withdrawal-resisting snap-catches at its respective ends,severedfrom the body of the shackle at one end and projecting from its face andfrom its back respectively,and a hollow sheetmetal seal part composed ofa pair of bodypieces and a disk-shaped inlet-forming piece interlockedwith each other and having a chamber, in communication with the inlet,provided with a catch-recess in one side adapted to interlocksuccessively with both of said snap-catches. v

4. The combination, in a snap-seal, of a flexible sheet-metal shacklehaving withdrawal-resisting snap-catches at its respec tive ends,severed from the body of the shackle at one end and projecting from itsface and from its back respectively, an oppositely-projectingsupplemental snap -catch between one of said catches and its extremityof the shackle and a catch-hole, between the other of the catches firstnamed and its extremity of the shackle, adapted to interlock with saidsupplemental snap-catch, and a hollow sheet: metal seal part composed ofa pair of body pieces and a disk-shaped inlet-forming piece, interlockedwith each other and adapted to inclose said shackle ends and tointerlockwith said catches first named.

5. The combination, in a snap-seal, of a flexible sheet metal shacklehaving withdrawal-resisting snap-catches at its respective ends, severedfrom the body of the shackle at one end and projecting from its face andfrom its back respectively, an oppositely-projecting supplementalsnap-catch between one of said catches and its extremity of the shackleand a catch-hole, between the other of the catches first named and itsextremity of the shackle, adapted to interlock with said supplementalsnap-catch, and a hollow sheet metal seal part composed of a pair ofbodypieces provided respectively with a recess adapted to interlock withsaid catches figst named and a recess to mask the free end of saidsupplemental snap-catch, and a disk shaped inlet-forming pieceinterlocked with said body-pieces, snbstantially as hereinbeforespecified.

EDWARD J. BROOKS.

Witnesses: I

GEO. O. TOTTEN, M. E. KANAL'EY.

